Water poured on closed macbook pro

[Picike]

I have a 2 year old daughter who poured some water on my closed macbook sitting on the side of the sofa last night around 6pm. It couldn't be that much as she had to shake the water out from a sippy cup and also one tissue from a normal kleenex box was enough to dry it off, but the water could have been on it for a good minute though and my daughter was playing with her finger with the water on it. As soon as I noticed i dried the laptop, I opened it up and it seemed to be dry inside apart from the very outside edge which was dry only from one quick wipe. There was a small amount of water (just like a fine film) under the laptop probably about the size of my daughter's hand too.

As the water didn't seem to be much I didn't pay too much attention to this whole thing. I didn't try to use the laptop all night either. Only just my husband noticed that the computer won't turn on when he got home at midnight. He thought it was out of power, so he plugged it in and noticed that the light of the charger is very faint. The computer still didn't turn on. He didn't know the water accident as I was already asleep and left it on the charger all night. We got up at 7am when he told me what happened and then I realised that it must have been the water. We unplugged the laptop and put it upside down on a towel in the sun with the backdoor slightly open for good ventilation.

I am still hoping it would dry out, and hopefully would work, I am also hoping that the water was not too much either to kill the machine, but if anyone has any good suggestions to follow I would highly appreciate it. Thank you

 

[chscag]

Not much you can do but wait and see.... be prepared though to buy a new MacBook Pro in case yours no longer works right. And read through our Sticky Post regarding spills at the top of this forum.

 

[Techtype17]

I was at the Genius bar the other day and a woman next to me had a laptop (one of the big ones) that her adult son spilled coffee on. The repair was going to be $1250....

There was one expensive cup of Java....

 

[Exodist]

Its likely to not be enough to hurt it. But here is something you can do. They make dryer packs to remove humidity. Much like the small ones that come with electronics. But some stores like Lowes sell large ones for fridge or closets. You can stick you laptop in a bag with one of those containers with the silicone dryer bag inside and it will dry up any and all moisture in the bag your laptops in. Keep in mind though to keep the dryer bag/pouch in its plastic container and make sure you don't spill that nasty sticky water back on it.

Here is a amazon link to give you a better understanding what I am talking about...

www.amazon.com/Dry-Packs-Indicating..._sim_hi_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EF9RNV65G7G5B64N36F

 

[MacDino]

Putting it in a plastic bag with a hand full of dry uncooked rice also works. Too bad it got plugged into the charger. When electronics get wet voltage is the enemy. IF it ever happens again, remove the battery immediately and let it dry out completely before powering it up. Hope it survives.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Oh dear, guess you don't have extended warranty! Yes warm and dry is the answer, the rice is a good idea. Have you got an airing cupboard where you keep the dry washing, somewhere around 24-25ºC (75-80ºF) with the rice should dry it out well enough. If there are still problems, damage has been done unfortunately!

 

[Picike]

Just an update on what happened so later on if someone is searching through the net it might be helpful.

The water leaked through the apple sign and did some extensive damage to the computer. Exactly what I am not sure it sounded all very difficult and alien to me. Did not take to the Apple store as it would have been just far too expensive to fix and not worth it. In the end I took it to a chinese guy in town who fixed it for $400 and gave me 3 months warranty. Apple store wouldn't have given longer warranty either so I am pretty happy with the solution.

I feel a bit disappointed though that the computer got damaged from such a small amount of water. I mean really one paper kleenex tissue dried off the whole thing completely and the laptop was closed! I feel a bit ripped off with quality....

 

[pigoo3]

In the end I took it to a chinese guy in town who fixed it for $400 and gave me 3 months warranty.

I feel a bit disappointed though that the computer got damaged from such a small amount of water. I mean really one paper kleenex tissue dried off the whole thing completely and the laptop was closed! I feel a bit ripped off with quality....

Three things:

1. You didn't tell us the exact model "MacBook Pro" this is/was. So paying $400 to have it fixed may or may not have been the intelligent thing to do.

2. Was it really necessary to mention that it was a "Chinese Guy" that repaired the computer? Couldn't you have just said that you took it to a "local person" for the repair. Some folks would find this statement pretty offensive!

3. You mentioned something about "I feel a bit ripped off with quality..."

Let's see...you (or a member of your family) spilled the liquid onto the computer...then the computer doesn't work...and Apple gets blamed?? Interesting logic. I suppose if your 2 year-old daughter hit you in the head with a hammer...the manufacturer of the hammer would be at fault as well.

Nothing at all to do with personal responsibility...right??

- Nick

 

[chas_m]

Nick, are you new here?

People make the most amazing connections in an effort to blame Apple for their own (or their children's) errors around here *all the time.* It's refreshing when someone actually admits that they knew their computer or phone was not waterproof and that the incident was their own (or another person's) fault.

I think the OP is underestimating how much water got inside the computer. What was LEFT was easily wiped up with a tissue, but that doesn't take into account what had already gotten inside. YES, computers are porous! There's a reason why we always say to keep liquids at least six feet away from a computer at all times. This has *nothing* to do with quality and *everything* to do with physics and Murphy's Law.

 

[C++]

I spilt a quarter glass of tea straight into my MBA keyboard and I'm still going fine with no repairs, whereas my Dell needed a keyboard replacement.

It isn't quality, it's your carelessness. Water damage is very unpredictable on any laptop, you didn't take the required measures.

Next time, immediately turn it off, wipe visible water and do either;
1. Turn it upside down, and mount it on top of an upwards-facing wall/tower fan (put it on the floor) on full speed for 1-2 days (worked for me)
2. Put it in a closed container with rice or silica (recommended, since rice has fine powders that can get into your MB) for 2-4 days

 

[Exodist]

Well I am glad you got it working. $400 bucks and 3 month warranty actually sounds really good.. 3 month is a great warranty as in my experience, if something electronic is going to fail. Its normally always in the first 3 months..

Here are a few things that have happened to me in the past.

I had one keyboard I loved, had the backlit keys and everything. I spilt less then 2 table spoons of Coke Cola on the keyboard. It didn't short anything out as it only made it to the rubber membrane under the keys. However no matter how many times I took that keyboard a part and cleaned with everything from windex to commercial grade alcohol from our air base. That syrup, even though I could no longer see it. Would still bind my keys up.. They had also discontinued that model keyboard at the time..

The other thing is my wife had a USB keyboard with backlit keys, kinda looked like the current Mac keyboards now, but had brushed finish. She went to check her FB just after getting out of the shower, some how when she touched the keyboard with wet hands (wet but not dripping) it blew the voltage regulators on the motherboard. We didn't use that keyboard after that..

Come to think of it, we was running Ubuntu 5.10 or 6.04 at the time.. Really great year for Linux OS..

 

[chscag]

The other thing is my wife had a USB keyboard with backlit keys, kinda looked like the current Mac keyboards now, but had brushed finish. She went to check her FB just after getting out of the shower, some how when she touched the keyboard with wet hands (wet but not dripping) it blew the voltage regulators on the motherboard. We didn't use that keyboard after that..

You're lucky she didn't get jolted. Sounds like that keyboard or the computer was an electrical accident waiting to happen. I've been hit pretty hard a number of times because of my own carelessness or being in a hurry to finish a repair. I've been lucky too considering some of the military equipment and commercial stuff that I used to work on.

 

[Exodist]

You're lucky she didn't get jolted. Sounds like that keyboard or the computer was an electrical accident waiting to happen. I've been hit pretty hard a number of times because of my own carelessness or being in a hurry to finish a repair. I've been lucky too considering some of the military equipment and commercial stuff that I used to work on.

Yea I agree, the keys were of course plastic and the base was plastic, just the top shell was brushed aluminum.. It shouldn't have been connected or grounded to anything. At most it would only have been 12 volts and low amp through USB. But enough to make you say a few nasty words. Yea, that is why I got her another keyboard when I ordered the motherboard.. It shouldn't have done that unless something was faulty.. Wasn't going to take another chance on frying a $90 mother board (or more the next time) with a $10 keyboard..
Was lucky the the discharge stopped at the voltage regulator and didn't make it to the CPU..